Yani Tseng remains in third place after almost flawless Day 3 showing

TAIPEI -- World No. 1 Yani Tseng fired a near flawless 6-under 66 in the third round of the Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship on Saturday, but it was still not good enough to keep pace with leader Inbee Park of South Korea.

Tseng, who entered the third round two shots off the pace behind Park and Suzann Pettersen of Norway, finished the day in third place at 14-under, four shots out of the lead, after a round of four birdies and one eagle without a single bogey.

Tseng said the 66 was the best she could have scored under the circumstances.

"I missed some short putts out there and didn't hit quite close to the pin and left lots of birdies out there," Tseng said at a news conference after the round.

The putt that especially stung was a missed four-footer on the par-5 18th, which left her even further behind the machine-like Park,who shot a course record 64 for a three-round total of 18-under-par 198.

The large crowd packed around the 18th green let out a huge groan after Tseng's miss, a putt that left her visibly frustrated, but she still held out hope she could defend her title with a comeback Sunday.

'Still good'

"(The round) was still good for me and hopefully tomorrow I'll still be aggressive with the same strategy and try to make birdie every hole," said Tseng, who birdied holes 1, 2, 6, and 12 and eagled the par-5 13th.

Pettersen was in second at 16-under after also shooting a 6-under66 Saturday, and Catriona Matthew of Scotland was in fourth at 12-under par.

The 24-year-old Park fired two eagles and five birdies, including a birdie on the 18th hole that won her a big round of applause from the spectators, with some describing her as a "putting-machine." She only carded one bogey.

"I think today probably was almost perfect for me," the world No. 5 said at a news conference after the round.

At the news conference, Park also praised the performance of Pettersen, who was paired with her and Matthew in the final group Saturday.

"She played really fantastic, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow," she said.

Saturday's highlights included eagles by both Park and Matthew on the short par-5 sixth hole, and Park's eagle on 13 after putting the ball within inches of the cup on a long iron.